22 Aug. 2009
Abraham Lincoln - Hero or Racist?
Abraham Lincoln is arguably one of the most interesting presidents in the history of the United States. Any research done on Lincoln will show, whether you agree or disagree with his philosophies, that he was, and still is, a fascinating historical figure. There have been numerous discussions regarding Lincoln before the Civil War, during the war as Commander In Chief, or his views on slavery and racial equality; furthermore, vast debates on his views, strategies, and solutions regarding events that helped shape our nation. Abraham Lincoln is such an interesting person that discussions and debates will lead to more questions open to more discussion and debate. What was Lincoln’s view on
Woodson and Wesley also stated, “the South, wanting to please foreign countries, dismissed the fact that they were taking part in the war to promote slavery, and instead, claimed self-defense to maintain its right to govern itself and to preserve its own peculiar institutions (361). The purpose of this claim was to keep foreign countries from thinking the South was fighting the war to keep blacks as slaves; thus, hoping to garner the favor of foreign allies. Because the Confederacy claimed the war was “between white men” (361), Blacks were not freed and they could not participate in the war.
Northerners and leaders in the Republican party, which Lincoln was a member of, had long protested slavery, claiming it to be morally wrong. Lincoln’s election to president provoked the cotton states of the South to secede and form The Confederate States of America. Southern states thought because politicians in Northern states were working hard to prevent the extension of slavery, that the North would try to abolish slavery in their states, which would have been not only a threat to their livelyhood which depended on the free labor of slaves, but also threatened their social status of power. As written by George M. Fredrickson in his article “Diverse Republics: French & American Responses to Racial Pluralism”, “the rise in the production of short-staple cotton in the expanding Deep South of the early nineteenth century made the planter class so affluent and